What is Learning and Development?

Why Is It So Important?

There are different, major forms of learning and development. We're most familiar with formal and other-directed forms of learning and development, that include the strong attention to the systematic structure and evaluation of the learning and development, especially as used in schooling. That is somewhat ironic, because the most common forms of learning and development are informal and self-directed -- they occur without strong attention to a systematic design and evaluation and without many experts guiding us through those experiences.

1. Can you tell me a little about yourself?

This question seems simple, so many people fail to prepare for it, but it's crucial. Here's the deal: Don't give your complete employment (or personal) history.  

2. How did you hear about the position?

Another seemingly innocuous interview question, this is actually a perfect opportunity to stand out and show your passion for and connection to the company. 

The field (or many would argue, the profession) of training and development has undergone dramatic improvements, especially with the inclusion of computer- and Web-based technologies. We're also expanding the concept of learning beyond the learning of individuals -- we're thinking that groups and organizations can learn, too. (Although the topics of the learning organization and knowledge management are fairly recent and still popular, many people would disagree that they're actually learning and development programs -- those people might assert that they're actually forms of organizational performance management. However, the two topics still seem to be so broad and changing, that they're referred to here as movements.)

Training and development -- or "learning and development" as many refer to it now -- is one of the most important aspects of our lives and our work. (Many people view "training" as an activity that produces the result or outcome of "learning" -- and learning is typically viewed as new knowledge, skills and competencies or abilities.) In our culture, we highly value learning. Yet, despite our having attended many years of schooling, many of us have no idea how to carefully design an approach to training and development. This topic in the Library provides an extensive range of information about training and development, including to depict how the many aspects of training and development relate to each other. Also, this topic explains how training and development can be used, 

Monitoring session

Small lecture to teach the basics of this topic